I Need You
by IrelandInIrish
Summary: STYDIA. Each chapter inspired by hurt au starter from tumblr. Extremely fluffy hehe...
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So I've finally finished all my college exams for the year and I really wanna start updating all my stories on the site again now that I'm free from work haha. I was scrolling through tumblr the other day and found this post of 'hurt roleplay starters' and some of them are really cute and made me think of Stydia :') Anyway I've decided to write a quick fanfic where each chapter will be a different opening based on the tumblr post…Hope you guys enjoy**

" _Woah, Woah, Woah! Slow down! You don't wanna get even more hurt, do you?"_

Stiles faltered, turning to look at Lydia as if she were crazy.

"Did you not just hear Scott howl? He needs us!" the boy exclaimed

"I know" Lydia replied calmly "But you're already hurt Stiles-"

"-I don't care!" he exploded, frustrated with her as he wiped the blood from his head "I'm going to help our friend, our brother, our alpha…if you wanna stay here and worry about getting hurt all the time then you do that"

The strawberry blonde's mouth fell open at his harsh words, and she nodded slowly.

"Fine" she whispered, her voice cracking "Go, clearly you don't need my help"

She turned and began walking away, but he called out and stopped her.

"Hey, Lyds c'mon don't go! We need to stick together as a pack here, we can't lose anyone else!"

She paused, not turning round  
"You know, I do care Stiles, about Scott, about everyone…but I care about you more than that, I don't want you to get hurt!"

There was silence from behind her, and she screwed her eyes shut, wishing she hadn't have said that to him.

She felt arms wrap round her shoulders, and she let out a sigh as his voice appeared in her ear.

"I feel the same way about you Lydia, and you know that if anything happened to you I'd-"  
"-go out of your mind" she finished quietly, turning to face him.

He looked shocked as his arms fell back to his sides  
"You remembered that?" he breathed.

She shrugged "I remember everything you say to me"

Stiles stared at her in amazement and after a while, Lydia began to feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Forget it" she said hastily "That was so lame, and really now is not the time for us to be stood here reminiscing, you were right, let's just go find Scott"

She went to move past him, but he reached out and took her wrist.  
"You're amazing" he told her sincerely "I should never have implied that you don't care, because you do, about all of us, and I love you for that"

The breath caught in Lydia's throat "You love me?" she frowned in confusion  
Stiles opened his mouth to reassure her he meant as a friend, when his gaze locked onto hers, her green eyes sparkled despite the late hour and the fact they were both exhausted, her hair fell perfectly down her back. And it was in that instant that the boy realised, to tell her that would be a lie.

He shakily reached out and brushed a strand of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear, before caressing her cheek with his thumb.

"Yeah" he said simply, his voice wavering as he took a deep breath "Yeah, I love you Lydia, I'm in love with you, I have been since the third grade, and I don't think I'll ever stop"

He trailed off, staring at her, waiting for a reply. He was terrified of what she might say to him.

But she didn't say anything, instead she reached up onto her toes, and softly pressed her lips to his, closing her eyes in the process. The kiss was sweet and innocent, but not long-lasting. Lydia eventually pulled away, and took his hand.

"Come on" she said quietly "We'll go and find Scott together, but we're going _slowly_ , you don't wanna get even more hurt"

And as Stiles laced his fingers through hers, he knew that roughly translated, she was saying that she loved him too.


	2. Chapter 2

" _Tell me where it hurts"_

Lydia shook her head and breathed heavily, the concrete was cool on her cheek as she lay on her side curled up into a protective ball.

"Hey Lyds c'mon I need to know where you're hurt" Stiles pushed, gripping her hand tightly as he knelt beside her on the floor.

"It doesn't matter" she groaned, struggling to sit up

He gently pushed her back down "Are you kidding me? I've just found you passed out on the floor and you're covered in blood! Lydia, we're not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong so I can fix it!"

The strawberry blonde smiled despite herself as Stiles panicked.

"Will you please calm down, you're making my head hurt" she told him gently

"Your head? Lydia head injuries are serious!" Stiles chided, brushing his thumb over her forehead

"It's a headache Stiles" she moaned "There's no damage to my head"

"Will you just tell me?" he pleaded "Lydia?"

The girl was looking up at him, focusing on his brown eyes as they scanned her worriedly.

"Stiles, I can handle it, I'll be okay, go find the others, make sure they're safe"

He shook his head as she spoke "Lyds if you think I'm leaving you then you're crazy, I'm not going anywhere…what's going on?"

She sighed and sat up, ignoring his protests for her not to move.

"I know you Stilinski, you pass out at the sight of blood okay? So you need to go and find the others, and let me deal with this, because if I'm hurt and you're unconscious we're no good to anyone"

He stared at her, his jaw dropped slightly "Are you serious?" he asked quietly, his voice cracking

"What?"

"Lydia, I don't care if you're freaking bleeding like Niagara Falls, if you're hurt there is no way in hell I'm leaving your side…I thought after all these years you would know that by now"

She chewed on her lower lip, uncertain, but he fixed her with a firm gaze and so she carefully rolled up the sleeve on her left arm.

There was a gash along her forearm, which was still bleeding steadily, caused from the claws of one of the wolves that had attacked her.

"You doing okay?" she asked teasingly as Stiles gently held onto her, studying the injury  
"Isn't that my line?" he chuckled, resting her arm on his knees as he ripped the hem from his top.

"You making a fashion statement?" Lydia winced, shuddering slightly as pain overwhelmed her.

Stiles stared at her in concern "No, I'm making a bandage" He quickly wrapped the material round her arm to stop the bleeding.

"Wow" Lydia said sleepily "I'm impressed"  
"Thanks" Stiles chuckled "You okay to stand?"  
"As long as you don't suddenly run off and leave me"

He held her steady, casting a glance over her paling face, bleeding arm and tousled hair. He pressed his lips to her temple, his arm winding round her waist to hold her upright.

"Never" he whispered "I'll never leave you"


	3. Chapter 3

_"Whoa, that's purple... It looks like your shoulder is dislocated."_

Stiles groaned at these words from his spot sat on the edge of her bed.

"Why did you come to me and not go straight to a doctor?" the girl chided, frowning as she examined his right shoulder.

"I wanted to make sure" he mumbled "I don't wanna waste the doctors time"

Lydia moved to stand in front of him, her hand rested on her hip  
"Stiles" she began warningly

"Okay I'm scared! You know how I feel about hospitals!"

The girl chuckled and shook her head.

"This isn't funny!" Stiles protested, crying out in pain as he jarred his shoulder.

Lydia bit her lip "Hey, it's alright, just try not to move too fast…I can't believe you drove yourself over here! You could've had an accident! Why didn't you call me, I would've come over"

"It's dark" Stiles pointed out quietly "I don't like the thought of you driving by yourself at night"

The strawberry blonde smiled softly "You're adorable" she told him "But we're still going to the emergency room"

Stiles groaned exaggeratedly "Lydia come on! I'll be fine!"

She folded her arms and he sighed, reluctantly standing up from her bed. She picked up his shirt which he'd flung on her desk in order to show her his shoulder.

"Come here" she instructed, pulling it over his head and down his torso. Carefully she fed both of his arms through the sleeves, trying to ignore the hisses and cries of pain coming from the teen.

"Alright let's just get this over with" Stiles grumbled, pulling his keys from his back pocket.  
"Err no way" Lydia stopped him, holding her palm flat "I'll drive"  
Knowing not to argue with her, Stiles dropped the keys in her hand and followed her down the stairs.

"I should've gone to Scott" he muttered, but a smile etched its way onto his lips as he watched the girl clamber into the driver seat of his jeep.


	4. Chapter 4

_"Oh my god. Are you okay?"_

Stiles rushed to Lydia as Derek led her into the loft where he had been waiting.

"I'm fine Stiles" she told him wearily "Just a little bruised"  
Lydia didn't like fuss and the others knew that, so they made sure to give her space, Stiles however decided this wasn't important – the only thing that mattered to him was that she was safe.

"What did they do to you?" he demanded, holding her arms as he stared into her eyes  
"Stiles we don't have to go over this, I'm pretty sure you can imagine what torture is"

Scott wandered over and cut in before Stiles could reply.  
"We're gonna head out and give you some time" he told her softly, squeezing her shoulder "I'm really glad you're okay Lyd"

She nodded at him with a smile, saying goodbye to him, Kira and Liam as they headed out the door.

"They shouldn't be leaving" Stiles muttered "We should stick together as a pack, especially after what's happened"

Malia appeared from the kitchen "Stiles come on, let's go out for dinner" she said in a bored tone  
"Not tonight" he replied firmly, his gaze not leaving Lydia's face  
"But Stiles-"  
"-Malia I said no! Go out with the others if you want but I'm staying here"

The coyote let out a growl, before turning and running from the loft, slamming the door as she went.

"Geez d'you mind?" Derek called from the other room "I don't come to your house and cause freaking earthquakes!"

Lydia bit her lip, her eyes focused on the floor  
"You shouldn't have snapped at her Stiles, you know she struggles to understand sometimes"

He sighed, finally letting go of her arms to run a hand through his hair  
"I know, but, just the thought of leaving you alone now, after everything you've been through"

Lydia smiled softly, her fingers brushing over the cuts and bruises on her hip  
"I'd be okay, I always am" she told him quietly

"You don't have to be. You were tortured Lydia, and we let you down because we let it happen"  
"It isn't your fault I was in the wrong place at the wrong time"  
"We should have found you sooner"

The boy balled his fists by his sides as he spoke decisively, and the strawberry blonde decided it was best not to push him anymore.

"Maybe" she agreed "But you didn't and I don't blame anyone for that. I'm not the only person in the pack Stiles, other people come first"

"You were being tortured Lydia! Freaking tortured! And I had to just stay here and let the wolves handle it because I'm so damn useless I couldn't even help to save you!"

Stiles' eyes were wet with tears of frustration, and Lydia lifted a hand to wipe his cheek gently.

"You're not useless" she whispered "You've saved me so many times before now, with or without claws or fangs or a giant sword" she smiled thinking of Kira "Sometimes all you have is a baseball bat but no matter when you turn up, or who you turn up with, the moment I see you I feel safe"

Stiles pulled in his lower lip, nodding silently as she spoke  
"But I wasn't there for you this time" his voice cracked  
"You're here now" she countered  
"Where else would I be?"

She reached out and pulled him into a hug; her face buried in his chest, arms wrapped round his waist, his hands resting one on the back of her head and one on the flat of her back.

"And you're okay" he breathed into her hair, reassuring himself more than anything "You're safe"  
He heard a muffled giggle "Yes, I'm okay, I have you don't I, and you make me feel safe Stilinski"


	5. Chapter 5

_"You're bleeding... You're bleeding bad..."_

Stiles had his eyes shut tightly as he listened to Lydia speak. There was a throbbing pain in his leg and he was pretty sure that an ant had crawled onto his face as he lay on the floor of the preserve.

"Great" he groaned out eventually "Way to make me feel better Lyd"

"Would you rather I lied?" she huffed, and he could sense she was beginning to panic.

He sighed "No, I guess not…hey will you just calm down please?"

The strawberry blonde glared at him from her spot kneeling at his feet  
"Are you serious!" she exclaimed "You're bleeding, and we're trapped here because there is no way I can carry you back to the jeep, and neither of us have signal!"

Stiles winced as her voice cracked, and fat tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"Lydia" he began softly "I think you should take my keys and go for help"

She didn't miss a beat "No"  
"Lydia c'mon"  
"I'm not going Stiles, I won't leave you here"

Any other time he would've been overjoyed to hear her say this, but right now all he could think about was how much blood he was losing.

"Hey, I'll be alright, just drive to the hospital and bring back help"  
"NO!"  
"Lydia…Lydia?"

The girl had gotten to her feet and was pacing around muttering to herself. Stiles watched her go, knowing that to stop Lydia Martin mid rant was a dangerous idea. That was, until he saw the coyote trap hidden partially under some leaves.

Stiles struggled to sit up, glaring at the coyote trap beside him which his leg had been caught in.

"LYDIA!" He yelled, determined to stop her, even if it meant having to try and stand up.  
"WHAT?" She bit back, rounding on him with eyes blazing almost the same colour as her hair.  
"Don't move" he breathed out "Just slowly step backwards"

The girl frowned at him, before turning back and seeing the glint of silver as it caught the sunlight.  
"Stiles" she panicked  
"It's okay" he soothed "Just come back to me, I don't think you stepped on it"

Lydia edged back until she felt she was a safe enough distance away. She released a breath she forgot she had been holding, and jumped as she felt a shrill ringing from her pocket.

"I must have signal" she murmured, shakily retrieving her cell "Yeah…it's Scott!"

Stiles sighed in relief, leaning back with his head on the ground. He heard Lydia hurriedly tell Scott everything before hanging up.

"He's on his way" she smiled wandering over to Stiles "How're you doing?"  
"Better now you've still got both your legs and help is coming" he quipped.

Lydia laughed softly, lowering herself onto the ground beside him until she too was lying flat on her back.

"Yeah thanks for that…I'm sorry I'm so useless"  
"Hey, you aren't useless" he said quietly yet with a firm voice "Lydia, you stayed here with me, you made me a freaking leg splint bandage thing like some sort of ninja doctor, you managed to find phone signal to get us help…"

"That was a fluke" she pointed out, her eyes wet with tears

Stiles eased himself onto his side so he could look at her "Lydia, you're not useless" he reiterated gently stroking her cheek, his thumb wiping away the smudges of mascara from her face "You're a genius"

The girl sniffed, pulling in her lower lip as she giggled. Stiles pulled her closer to him, wrapping a protective arm round her as they lay on the ground waiting for Scott.


	6. Chapter 6

" _This is gonna hurt…"_

Stiles bowed his head as he spoke "This is gonna hurt so freaking much" he whispered

Lydia quickly wiped at her cheeks as tears cascaded from her eyes. "We have to" she told him quietly.

Stiles stood up from where he was sat on his bed, and approached her, pulling her into his chest with a sigh. "I can't Lydia, I don't wanna do this" he mumbled into her hair.

The girl pulled away slowly, looking up into his brown eyes that were also threatening tears much like her own.

"They want to get to me Stiles, and I know that if we're still together then they're gonna hurt you and I won't let that happen"

Stiles began pacing his room, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke angrily.  
"I'm hurting _now_ Lydia. I freaking love you, I feel like I've only just got you to love me back and now you're saying we can't be together?!"

"Stiles, I've always loved you back" she breathed, taking an uncertain step towards him  
"No, you don't get to say things like that to me…not anymore"

The strawberry blonde shook her head "You don't mean that" her voice wavered before cracking  
"Lydia I can protect myself against whatever it is that's out to get us! I always do! And when it comes down to it you and I both know that I would do whatever the hell it takes to protect you too!"

"I know" she whispered

"Then why are you doing this?" he yelled "Because I literally feel like you've ripped my heart out of my chest!"

Lydia ran a hand over her face, smudging her make-up even further  
"Because I don't want to lose you Stiles. If we break up now, then I know that I can still see you everyday, we can still hang out, and I can love you from a distance…But if we stay together and this, this thing takes you to get at me, I'll lose you forever and I don't want that"

She sunk to her knees in the middle of his bedroom, drawing her legs up to her body as she sobbed.

Stiles had his jaw clenched, he was beyond angry at the situation. He wandered over to the girl and knelt in front of her, pulling her hands into his as he waited for her crying to subside.

"I'm sorry" she gulped after a while "This is all my fault!"  
"Don't you dare say that" Stiles told her firmly, brushing some hair from her eyes "None of this is your fault. Lydia don't you see that this is what it wants? To tear us apart?"

She sniffed "Literally or metaphorically?"

Stiles smiled slightly "Probably both, but I won't let them lay a finger on you, and I would die trying – It's up to you whether I do that as your boyfriend or not, but either way I will never, never stop caring about you. I'm in love with you Lydia"

She lifted her head and held his gaze, his eyes flickering over her face waiting for a reaction.

"I'm in love with you too" she whispered "I don't want us to break up…we're stronger together"

Stiles' face lit up as she spoke, and he grabbed her chin, tilting it upwards to meet his lips as he kissed her.

They broke apart moments later, their foreheads resting against each other.

"I won't let anything hurt you" Stiles murmured holding out his pinkie  
"I won't let anything hurt you either" Lydia replied teasingly, linking her finger round his as they sat there in silence on his bedroom floor.


	7. Chapter 7

_"It's all swollen up..."_

Lydia looked up at Stiles briefly, before turning her attention to Coach Finstock.

"Are you sure you can't just man up and play Stilinski?" he asked desperately "You fellas really could do with the practice before the championship next week"

"Coach, he needs to go to the nurse and put some ice on it, his ankle looks like a freaking grapefruit!" Lydia said shortly, nodding to Scott who helped her get Stiles to his feet.

"Oh for goodness sake I'm training a bunch of ladies" the man growled, hunting in his pocket for a hipflask "Practice is over, get off my field!"

The players hurried off, glad of the unexpected free period.

"Let's get you to the nurse buddy" Scott sighed, hooking Stiles' arm round his neck.

"You were awesome back there" Stiles told Lydia, carefully wrapping his other arm round her "Coach looked so pissed though"

She shrugged "He'll get over it, he didn't have to cancel the whole practice just for you"  
"What're you talking about I'm the star player" Stiles boasted

Lydia stopped just outside the nurses office, ignoring the fact that Scott was sniggering to himself.  
"Stiles" she sighed "I know you spend most of the time on the bench…I've been to all your games"

His jaw dropped "Seriously? All of 'em?"  
"Yeah, Allison and I even used to take turns driving to your away games"

There was a momentary silence at the mention of Allison, where Scott shoved open the door of the empty office and helped get Stiles onto the bed.

"She must be out with another kid" Scott muttered "I'll go and let Harris know where you are, we're meant to have him next period anyway"

"Thanks buddy" Stiles smiled, leaning back on the bed as he watched Lydia rummage through the freezer until she found an ice-pack.

"So you seriously used to come to all my games?" he pushed, wincing as she pressed the compress to his skin.

"What d'you mean 'used to' I still do" Lydia laughed shaking her head "And you are getting better Stilinski, even if Coach does always leave you on the bench for most of the game"

Stiles grinned "You really think so?"  
"Yeah, I do" she smiled at him softly, trying not to blush as she saw his gaze fall to her lips.

Instinctively she pulled them in, perching on the edge of the bed and swinging her legs.

"Is your ankle feeling any easier?" she questioned after a pause

"Oh err yeah, yeah little bit" Stiles flustered, focusing his attentions on the ceiling.

The bell rang for next period, and Lydia slid to her feet with a sigh, and picked up her bag.  
"The nurse should be back soon, try not to put any weight on your ankle" she instructed softly, heading for the door.

"Lydia wait!" Stiles called, rolling off the bed with a wince  
"Did you not hear what I just said you idiot" she laughed, rushing to help him before he could stumble over.  
"Don't go" he said breathlessly

Lydia slowly retracted her hands from their spot on his arm  
"What?"

"Please? Just stay a little longer"  
"Stiles are you alright?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows

He shook his head, laughing at himself "No, no I'm not alright, it's you Lydia"  
She raised an eyebrow "Excuse me?"  
"I like you, actually no, I love you and I have done since third grade"

The strawberry blonde stared at him, mouth slightly open as he spoke

"I thought I could just ignore it you know? Because what with all the crap that the pack goes through I figured that it would be a disaster to tell you how I feel, but you know what Lydia? After how you were with Coach earlier, and the way you worked out what was wrong with my ankle-"

"-I said it looked like a grapefruit" she laughed quietly "That doesn't require any skill Stiles"

"It's the _way_ you said it, your voice Lydia I could listen to you speak about random crap for hours because I love the sound of your voice!"

She gently helped him back over to the bed, and pushed him to sit down so there was no longer any weight on his injury.

"At the dance, you told me that you'd had a crush on me since the third grade" she reminded him "And back then I thought it was adorable, and that you were just some boy who was so totally awkward that I felt like I needed to protect you in some way"

"And now?" Stiles pressed quietly, his eyes fixed on her as she spoke.

"And now" she sighed "Now I can't imagine my life without you in it; you make me laugh, you make me cry, you make me so mad sometimes I want to punch you right in the face"

Stiles laughed and shook his head

"But most of all you make me happy, you make me feel safe, and I love you for that Stiles I really do"

She wrapped her arms round his neck and buried her face in his chest, feeling his hands slide up and down her back in comfort.

And it was at that moment that the nurse walked in, stunned to see two young teenagers sitting there hugging each other so tightly like one of them was about to disappear.

"Which one of you is my patient?" she asked with a polite cough

Stiles reluctantly pulled away from Lydia who picked up her bag once more  
"Me" he said "I err have a lacrosse injury"

The nurse looked at his ankle with a wince "That's nice and swollen, but it appears to be going down…did you put ice on it?"

"I did" Lydia told her hurriedly "Sorry I went through your freezer but I read that the sooner you put ice on any swelling the quicker it will go down"

The nurse rubbed her arm with a chuckle "I'm not mad sweetheart, you were absolutely right, Mr Stilinski here should be grateful to have a friend like you! Now I'll write you up a late pass and you can get along to class"

Lydia nodded, accepting the slip of paper hurriedly, before waving bashfully to Stiles and disappearing from the room.

"I'll be in the store cupboard doing a stock take if you need me Mr Stilinski" the nurse said, picking up a clipboard "You should thank that friend of yours later, she clearly cares a lot about you"

With that she wandered through to the other room leaving Stiles sat alone.

"I care a lot about her too" he mumbled, sliding down on the bed and resting his head on the pillows.


	8. Chapter 8

_"Holy crap! I may not know much about human anatomy, but legs don't bend that way!"_

Lydia winced, trying to ease herself up off the ground

"Oh no you don't" Stiles cut in, carefully swooping down to lower her again  
"I'm fine" she insisted with a groan "I didn't fall far!"

He shook his head firmly "You fell out of a goddamn tree Lydia! Now we're gonna sit and wait here until Scott gets back with his Mom okay?"

She huffed, looking away from him as he sat beside her. But after a while the pain came back and made her head swim dizzily. She let out a small whine and screwed her eyes shut.

"Hey, hey Lyds look at me" Stiles soothed, grabbing her hand and squeezing "It's gonna be okay I promise you"

"Stiles my leg is burning" she hissed "Please tell me your reaction was exaggerated?"  
He looked at her green eyes that pooled with tears as he ran his thumb down her cheek and over her lip.

"I think it's broken" he told her honestly "But yeah I guess part of it was exaggerated"

Lydia sighed but nodded, whining again as pain overwhelmed her once more  
"Just cut it off, I don't care anymore" she cried  
"I'm not amputating your leg" Stiles told her in an amused tone  
"I can't work a cast, no-one can!"

Lydia brought a hand up to her face "Oh my God I'm gonna look so stupid!"  
"No you won't" Stiles said calmly "Because you always look beautiful you goof how many times do I have to tell you that?"

The strawberry blonde leaned into him, clamping her teeth down on her lower lip  
"Thankyou" she whispered  
"Don't even think about it" he said softly.

"I'm gonna have to be on crutches or in a wheelchair or something" Lydia said suddenly "How is that gonna help when we're being chased by alphas, or darachs, or-or-or"

She trailed of, flinging her arms around wildly, until Stiles gently caught her wrists to keep her still.

"Lydia, I would carry you to the ends of the world to keep you safe, so don't worry okay"  
She crinkled her nose and giggled  
"Okay yeah that was a little cheesy" Stiles admitted with a laugh "Ignore that"

Lydia shook her head, placing a kiss on his cheek "I thought it was sweet" she told him  
"Oh God that's almost as bad as cheesy" Stiles groaned exaggeratedly  
Lydia whacked him, and instantly let out a cry of pain as her leg jarred.

"Okay so that teaches you that it's bad to hit Stiles" the boy joked, his eyebrows furrowed as he pulled her into his arms "You alright?"

"No, my leg is broken" the girl grumbled  
"Yeah, I got that"  
"Then no I'm not alright"

Stiles chuckled, brushing strands of strawberry blonde behind her ears as he cradled her in his lap.

As they were sat there, Scott's Mom's car pulled up, and she quickly hopped out and rushed to Lydia's side.

"Hey sweetie, how're you doing?"  
"Not good Mrs McCall…Is my leg broken?" the girl whimpered  
Melissa looked at it and winced "I think so hun, we're gonna get you to the hospital and get it all fixed up though okay?"

Lydia nodded, taking a deep breath and trying to ignore the pain as the boys lifted her up and carried her to the car.

They slid her onto the back seat and Stiles instantly got in beside her. Scott smiled and clambered up beside his Mom.

"When did that happen exactly?" she whispered, looking at the two in the back in her mirror.

Scott chuckled softly as she started the engine "Only a few weeks, but really it's been a long time coming"

He settled back into his seat, listening to Stiles murmur soothing words into Lydia's hair.


	9. Chapter 9

" _You have a black eye. Were you fighting with someone?"_

Stiles sighed, slowly shutting his locker as he turned to face Lydia. He felt Scott pat him sympathetically on the shoulder before disappearing to meet the others for lunch.

"It's nothing" he told her quietly, not wanting to make a scene in the hallway.

"Stiles…this isn't like you" the girl said worriedly "You wouldn't hurt anyone, not on purpose or without a reason…What happened?"

He shrugged his bag onto his shoulder and turned to begin walking away after Scott.

"Are you seriously ignoring me?"

Stiles groaned, he couldn't walk away from her, he just couldn't, not after the way her voice had just cracked.

He spun back and looked at her apologetically  
"Lydia I don't want to talk about it alright? It's over, it happened now let it go and come eat lunch with us"

The strawberry blonde rested her hand on her hip  
"No, somebody's hurt you Stilinski and I don't like that, so tell me what the hell happened and tell me now, otherwise I will get it out of Scott and we both know I can be pretty scary!"

Stiles smiled despite himself as he took in the fiery teenage girl stood in front of him.  
"Are you ever gonna let this go?" he questioned  
"No"  
"Me either, now c'mon, lunch, let's go"

He began walking away again, but stopped and frowned after she didn't try to stop him. Concerned, he turned back but Lydia was gone.

"Lyds?" he called out, gripping the straps of his backpack "Lydia this isn't funny okay? Just because I won't tell you doesn't mean that you-"

He trailed off as he rounded the corner, and his heart skipped a beat. Lydia was pinned up against a wall by the new kid, who had started at Beacon Hills High only a week ago. She was struggling against his grip, her bag on the floor with her books half spilling out.

"Let go of me!" she screamed, thrashing around  
"Stop squirming princess, I've heard you love a quickie in school, particularly in Coach's office"  
"Leave me alone! I don't even know who you are!"

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her breaths were uneven as she began to panic even more.

And that did it for Stiles, he threw his bag down in the corner, and charged at the kid, sending him crashing to the floor.

"Geez Stilinski that isn't nice"  
"Shut it Caleb" Stiles growled, clenching his fists by his sides "Now get lost"  
"I don't think so, you see Lydia and I were about to head on off to Coach's office, weren't we?"

Lydia's eyes were wide and scared, a sight that didn't please Stiles.

"I swear to God if you don't get out of here in the next 5 seconds I will happily break both of your legs" the teen threatened, his jaw clenched as beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.

"I'd like to see you try" Caleb drawled "After all, you didn't last very long during our last fight did you?"

Stiles closed his eyes, hearing Lydia gasp as she pieced everything together.

"I warned you to stay away from her" he snarled, re-opening his eyes and taking a step towards Caleb "I told you what would happen if you came anywhere near her"

Lydia shakily reached out and took Stiles' arm, scared he was going to launch himself at Caleb again.

"Yeah well you won't always be around to protect her Stilinski" he smirked "And when you aren't there, I just might be"

Stiles tore himself from Lydia's grip, and slammed Caleb up against the lockers, his fists balled in the boy's shirt as he held him there.

"Try threatening her again" he began deadly quiet "I dare you"

Even Caleb looked partially alarmed at the look of pure fury in Stiles' eyes  
"No" he said grumpily "I won't give you the satisfaction of hurting me, not for that slut"  
He turned and spat in Lydia's direction, and she cringed, backing up even more.

Stiles pulled Caleb forward before ramming him back into the lockers hard  
"Don't you ever call her that again, don't come near her, don't speak to her, don't touch her"

His knuckles had turned white, and his nails were dug into the palms of his hands, as he eventually let Caleb fall to the ground.

He looked up at Lydia, who shook her head shocked "Just go" she whispered. And he did, grabbing his bag he ran off down the hallway and out into the courtyard.

Stiles was breathing heavily as he thumped the lockers before taking a step back and running a hand through his hair.

"Are you alright?" he asked tightly, evidently still wound up  
Lydia moved to stand in front of him, gently taking his hands in hers "He hit you, that's how you got your black eye"

Stiles looked down at her, her face still scared and her eyes still wet with tears  
"Yeah" he confirmed sadly "I heard him saying some stuff about you and I told him to stop, but he didn't and he told me he wanted to-to err…you know, and I got mad and then we were fighting"

He bowed his head but she tilted his chin back up  
"I've never seen you like that before" she whispered  
"I know I'm sorry…I just, I saw him hurting you and I snapped"

Lydia nodded, chewing on her bottom lip as Stiles gently rolled up her sleeves to examine the finger shaped bruises up her wrists and arms.

He sighed, resting his forehead on hers as they stood there in the silence of the hallway.

"It's okay" she told him quietly "I'm alright"  
"Yeah, yeah I know" Stiles let go of her wrists and wrapped his arms round her waist, pulling her closer to him as he pressed a kiss to her temple.  
"Thanks to you" she continued "I guess you really are batman huh?"

Stiles smirked, his arm still round her waist as they picked up their bags and headed to lunch with the others.


	10. Chapter 10

_"Okay... Okay, hospital. Hospital, now."_

Stiles was attempting to pull Lydia to her feet as he spoke, but she remained sat on her bed, refusing to move.

"No Stiles, I'm not going to the hospital, I'm fine" she insisted, folding her arms

He let go of her and began pacing the room, ranting "Lydia you blacked out, that isn't good and I'm telling you that I'm taking you to the hospital to get checked out"

"And I'm telling _you_ that people black out all the time, from dehydration or low blood sugar, there are other people who have genuine injuries, why would I intentionally agree to waste the doctors time?"

Stiles stopped and stared at her "Did you drink anything today?"  
"Yeah, the glass is right there on the side" Lydia frowned  
"And what about food? Have you eaten?" he persisted

The strawberry blonde raised an eyebrow "Yes _Dad_ I've eaten, did you not see the mountain of dishes I have to wash before my Mom gets home?"

Stiles didn't even crack a smile at her attempt of a joke  
"Lydia" he said "If all of that is true, you obviously didn't black out from dehydration or low blood sugar. So guess what? We're going to the hospital and we're going now"

She rolled her eyes "I said no Stiles, and I mean it – it would be a waste of time"

The boy knelt down on the floor beside her bed so that they were at eye level  
"Lydia, it wouldn't be a waste of time to me to make sure you're okay" he told her softly

The girl sighed "If I wasn't okay, would I be sat here having this argument with you?"

Stiles groaned, running a hand over his face "You're supposed to be the smart one here Lyd, ignoring the fact you were freaking _unconscious_ isn't very smart is it?"

She smiled "See even when you panic you don't lose your sarcasm" she cooed "It's adorable"

"I'm not joking" Stiles deadpanned "I will get you checked out at the hospital even if I have to knock you over the head and carry you there"

Lydia bit down on her lip, trying not to laugh "Wouldn't that defeat the point of trying to keep me conscious?" she pointed out helpfully.

A moment of silence passed between the two, where Stiles massaged the bridge of his nose while Lydia lazily looked round her bedroom.

"I'll ring Scott" Stiles said suddenly, looking up "You can't take on the both of us"

Lydia raised an eyebrow at him "You're being serious?"  
"Yes because up until now I've been joking around about your unconscious state"  
"Man you really do amp up the sarcasm when you don't get your way don't you?"

Stiles straightened back up and ran a hand through his hair  
"Lydia, d'you really want me to resort to begging?" he questioned

"As amusing as that would be to watch, no. You're being ridiculous Stiles-"

"No I'm not!" he yelled at her "Is it _ridiculous_ to want to make sure that you're okay? Is it _ridiculous_ that I'm freaking worried about you? Is it _ridiculous_ that after all the crap that we've been through I'm scared for you Lydia! Well then fine! I'm being ridiculous!"

The room fell silent once more as he resumed his pacing, fists clenched by his sides.

Lydia was speechless, she slowly got to her feet and wandered over to him, placing a hand on his arm to stop him.

"I'll go" she told him softly "I'll go to the hospital"

Stiles looked down at her, unclenching his fists.  
"Yeah?"  
"Yeah, I mean it can't hurt to get checked over right?"

He smiled, pulling her into his arms  
"Thankyou" he whispered in her hair  
"Yeah whatever" she replied with a smirk, pulling back and grabbing her jacket "But don't you ever yell at me again Stilinski" she warned in a sweet tone.

He mock saluted, following her out of the bedroom, jangling his keys as he went, with a look of satisfaction plastered across his face.


	11. Chapter 11

_"I think you have a concussion."_

Lydia frowned as she crouched in front of Stiles, studying his face which was contorted in pain as his right hand rested on the back of his head.

"No I'm fine" he told her hastily, looking in completely the opposite direction to where the girl was positioned.

"I'm over here Stiles" Lydia giggled, waving a hand in his face

"Oh…right" he blushed slightly, before groaning again in pain.

"Double vision?" she questioned  
"No…well yeah, but it's nothing honestly"  
"Feeling nauseous?"  
"Little bit" he mumbled

Lydia rested the back of her hand on his forehead, and felt him shiver at her touch, she hid a smile as she withdrew her hand.

"I'm guessing headache too?" she continued

"Well wouldn't you have a headache if a freaking werewolf picked you up and threw you into a concrete wall?"

Stiles moved to get up as he spoke, but was overcome with a wave of dizziness which kept him sat on the floor.

"Okay firstly, no I don't have a headache, because when Scott told us to 'run' I took it literally and didn't decide to play the hero with a baseball bat. And second, you just went dizzy which is another symptom of concussion…man I'm gonna make a good doctor"

Stiles raised his eyebrows at her "Seriously we're talking about your future career choices right now?" he asked in exasperation.

"Well no, but since you asked I've been thinking maybe a midwife, my Mom says I'm great with kids which is why our neighbours ask me to babysit all the time. Then again I wanted to do something science related…hey I could be a stunt double in movies since I've been kicking supernatural ass lately" she finished with a smile as she folded her arms and stood there looking proud.

Stiles was staring at her like she'd gone crazy "Right…well, yeah sure, who doesn't want a stuntwoman who _runs away_ from the stunt"

"We were told to run, It's not my fault I'm good at taking orders…maybe I should be a waitress…get it?"

"Are you sure _you're_ not the one with concussion?" Stiles groaned, massaging his head as it pounded.

Lydia ignored him, checking her watch before moving back to crouch in front of him.  
"How're you feeling?" she asked softly, not wanting to jar his head  
"Oh great now that we've got your future all planned out" he snorted

Lydia smirked, checking her watch again.  
"What're you waiting for?" Stiles asked with a yawn.

Lydia whipped her head back up to look at him, realising he was drifting off, panicking, she raised a hand and slapped his left cheek hard.

"Arghh Jesus Lyds what the hell was that for?" Stiles cried, jolting forward and bringing a hand up to the red mark left on his skin.

"Sorry" she apologised "I didn't know what else to do"  
"What does that mean-"

The girl jumped up without answering, as Scott's Mom's car pulled up  
"Thankyou for getting here so fast"  
"No worries sweetie" Melissa assured her, hurrying to Stiles "Hello Mr wannabe hero"

He groaned "Not you too"

The woman smirked, gently tilting his head side to side to examine it for cuts.

"He has all the symptoms of concussion, nausea, dizziness, double vision" Lydia reeled off, biting her nails

"Yeah" Stiles agreed "And now a throbbing cheek because _someone_ slapped me"

Melissa looked up at Lydia "Good girl" she praised "Can you grab my medical bag out the trunk of my car?"

The strawberry blonde nodded and took off while Stiles gawped at Scott's Mom

"Good girl?" he repeated in disbelief "She hit me!"  
"Stiles she saved you! People with concussion shouldn't lose consciousness if it can be helped because it's never certain if you can bring them round after that. By slapping you Lydia kept you awake long enough for me to get here"

"Oh" the boy murmured, looking up at where Lydia was rummaging around the back of Melissa's car.

"That and talking to the person to keep them interacting with you"  
"Talking?"  
"Yeah, about anything, just so long as you keep conversation flowing" Melissa shrugged "Let me guess, she did that too?"

Stiles nodded, his mouth slightly open "Yeah…she was talking about…about the future and stuff, what she wants to do"

Melissa nodded as Lydia came running back over with the bag.

She took a seat beside Stiles who still stared at her  
"What?" she asked uneasily  
"You're gonna make a great doctor someday" he told her, resting his head on her shoulder sleepily

The girl looked up at Melissa in confusion, who was smirking as she rummaged in her bag.  
"He's not wrong you know" she murmured

Lydia smiled at the woman, looking down at Stiles who was eyeing up the needle in Melissa's hand.  
"It's for the pain" she explained  
"Really?" he whined

Lydia gently took his hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly  
Stiles looked at their interlocked fingers and then up at the girl, who smiled softly.

"Okay I'm ready" he nodded, closing his eyes and tightening his grip on Lydia's hand.


	12. Chapter 12

" _What the hell happened to you?"_

Stiles' eyes flickered worriedly over the strawberry blonde as she slid silently onto the bench opposite him in the school courtyard.

"Something came up, it's no big deal" she muttered, opening her notebook and digging out a pen to add the finishing touches to her calculus homework.

"No big deal?" Stiles repeated in disbelief "Lydia we needed you last night! Things could have gone so badly wrong, Scott and Malia might have been seriously hurt, in fact you're lucky they weren't"

Lydia's head snapped up, her green eyes glinting in anger " _I'm_ lucky?" she spat "How am I lucky?"  
"Because you were meant to be there helping us, instead we were ambushed by another pack!"  
"Everyone's okay aren't they?" Lydia pointed out with a sigh  
"Who are you right now?" Stiles was shaking his head as he watched her.

The girl rolled her eyes, stuffing her books back into her bag before standing up and lifting it onto her shoulder.

"We're supposed to be a pack Stiles. And that means we need to trust each other. So when I tell you that something came up, I expected you to trust that it was important, but I guess you're still the immature little boy from the third grade huh?"

With that she turned on her heel and stormed off, leaving Stiles sat there speechless.

…

He found her in the library after school, where he had been sent for detention. Their eyes briefly met before Lydia quickly buried her head back in her book determinedly.

Stiles looked around at the few other students dotted about the room. He sighed, hoisted his bag further up his shoulder and approached the strawberry blonde, dropping into the chair beside her.

"What you said back there wasn't cool Lydia" he told her pointedly, staring down at the table as he linked his fingers together.

"You deserved it" she retorted calmly "What you said wasn't cool either"

"I know, I guess I was too hard on you, but we live in Beacon Hills Lydia, 'something came up' has to be a pretty big something to risk your friends lives for"

He was watching her, and felt his skin prickle as he noticed the tears pooling in her eyes.  
"I didn't want anyone to get hurt" she whispered "I wanted to help, really I did"

Stiles frowned in concern, cautiously reaching out and squeezing her hand  
"What's going on Lydia? Because you're freaking me out a little"

The girl took a deep breath and closed her book, looking up at him through watery green eyes  
"My parents are getting a divorce. Dad's leaving and he won't say where he's going or how long he's going for. Stiles they have been the only constant and stable thing in my life and now even that's gone"

As she finished speaking her voice cracked and she quickly bowed her head, trying to save face amongst their fellow classmates busy studying.

"I'm so sorry Lyd" Stiles told her softly, running his thumb over the top of her hand  
"It's not your fault" she sighed, using her free hand to successfully smudge make-up down her cheek.

Lydia groaned "Great, and now I look even more of a mess"  
"You look beautiful" Stiles smiled "But knowing you, you'll go to the bathroom and check anyway, so c'mon"

He picked up her bag and his own before leading the way from the library.

…

It took Lydia 10 minutes to wash her face clean and reapply basic make-up to keep up appearances.

"Feel better?" Stiles questioned, pushing off the wall where he'd been waiting  
"I guess" she mumbled  
"Wanna skip last period and go for a milkshake?" he offered with a mischievous smirk

Lydia looked up at him, a hand resting on her hip, her bag swinging lightly on her forearm where it dangled. Stiles started nodding slowly, of course she didn't want to skip class, she was Lydia Martin, teenage genius in the making.

"Sure" she agreed after a long pause "But I'm having a latte, milkshake is way too fattening"  
Stiles looked momentarily surprised before a grin spread over his features and he offered the girl his arm "Well let's go then"

Rolling her eyes, though a smile still pulled at her lips, Lydia clutched his bicep as he led the way out to his jeep.

"I really am sorry you know" she murmured as she waited for him to unlock the doors "I didn't want to let you guys down last night"

Stiles stopped yanking on the handle, he looked up with a sympathetic smile on his face  
"It's alright Lyd, it's all gonna be alright…I mean it"

He looked purposefully at her and she nodded with a sigh, sliding into the passenger seat, because when she was with him, she honestly did feel like everything was gonna be alright.


	13. Chapter 13

_"Here, I need to clean you up. This might sting a bit..."_

Stiles winced and let out a little hiss of pain as he tried to quickly jolt away from the approaching strawberry blonde who waved antiseptic in the air pointedly.

"Actually I'm all good" he flustered, clutching at the gash in his arm

"No you're not Stilinski, you're a wimp, now get over here and let me clean you up" Lydia ordered, raising an eyebrow as if daring him to keep backing away.

"Well maybe it'll get better on its own" Stiles tried, warding her off with one arm  
"You're not a wolf Stiles" Lydia told him in an amused tone as she grabbed his wrist and steered him to the kitchen counter.

"Sometimes I wish I was" he grumbled, resting his back against the counter as he settled into one of the stools "I feel like me and Scott are just drifting further apart nowadays"

Lydia frowned "How d'you mean?"  
"He has Kira, I have Malia… and-"  
"-Just be grateful you have someone Stiles" Lydia told him, her thoughts drifting to Aiden.

He noticed her face fall, and he swallowed hard, carefully reaching out to squeeze her hand  
"You'll always have me and Scott though, you know that right?" he checked  
She smiled "Yeah, and I love you guys"  
"We love you too"

A moment of tense and awkward silence filled the room, before Lydia quickly placed the antiseptic on Stiles' cut, making him cry out and break the quiet.

"Will you pipe down, my neighbours will think I'm being murdered!"  
"You're a banshee, you scream all the time"  
"Oh shut it"

Stiles started to laugh, though his forehead was still pinched in a pained frown.

Lydia was shaking her head at him as she studied the cut.  
"So what happened again? When you called me I thought you'd been attacked or something"

"I was attacked…by my jeep"  
"Are you being serious right now?"  
"Hey we have a love hate relationship, sometimes I get mad at her when she breaks down, so she fights back by dropping the hood on my arm"

Lydia took a step back, her bottom lip clamped between her teeth.

"What?" Stiles questioned  
"Okay…'she'? it's a girl?"  
"She's my baby"  
"'love hate relationship'"  
"Love is sometimes cruel Lyds"  
"And 'she' 'fought back' by dropping the hood on your arm?"

Stiles opened his mouth to reply, momentarily deciding against it as he cocked his head to one side, a smirk playing on his lips "Go on then"

With that Lydia let out the loudest laugh the boy had ever heard, she was clutching her sides, tears streaming down her cheeks, and he stood there watching, loving the sound of the girl so happy.

"Are you done?" Stiles questioned, trying to control his own laughter

Lydia wiped her eyes and straightened up, clearing her throat  
"Yeah all good, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to ride in your jeep again"  
"What? How come?"  
"Well I wouldn't want to intrude"

With that she was off giggling again as Stiles marvelled at the way her hair caught the sunlight, her eyes glinted like emeralds, everything about her caught and held his attention.

"Well I'll leave you to it" he chuckled, grabbing the antiseptic to finish off cleaning up his arm, Lydia's laughter still echoing round the kitchen.


	14. Chapter 14

_"Did... did you get beaten up!?"_

Stiles slowly reached out to brush Lydia's hair away from her face but she flinched back from him  
"I'm fine" she muttered "It's nothing"

"Lyd the left side of your face is black and blue! That's not nothing, what the hell happened?"  
Stiles raised an eyebrow, exasperated at how she avoided his questions all the time, he wasn't letting her get away with it now.

"It was my fault, I opened my big fat mouth and…you know what Stilinski I don't wanna talk about it"  
She retreated back down the hall and out the doors leading down into the carpark.

Stiles groaned, swinging his bag onto his shoulder as he chased after her, dodging the students on their way to their next classes.

"Lydia" he called out "Lyd come on, wait up"

When he reached her, tears were pooling in her green eyes, and her head was bowed down but Stiles gently tilted it up to face him.

"What was your fault?" he questioned seriously, his eyes flickering across her face as he slowly retracted his fingers from her chin "Who did this to you?"

Lydia hesitantly opened her mouth to speak, noticing that Stiles' fists were clenched at his sides.  
"Last night…I was on a date and we went to the movies, and the guy selling popcorn got a little, flirtatious, I didn't know what to do, I just laughed but Brent got really mad at me"

She trailed off, looking round as if hunting for an exit from the conversation altogether.

"He hit you?" Stiles asked, his jaw setting in anger "It wasn't your fault, why did you let him hit you?"  
"It's not like I asked for it Stiles! I was terrified! He locked us in his car and beat me up, what was I supposed to do?"

The boy stared at her in exasperation "Call me! I would've come and got you"  
"You were busy with Malia last night, I know you were, besides…he took my phone away, I only got it back at the end of the night"

Stiles shook his head, trying to interpret it all  
"Wait, you think that just because I was with Malia I wouldn't have come and got you if you needed me?" he frowned "Because if that's what you think Lydia then you don't know me at all"

The strawberry blonde stood glaring up at him and he stared back at her, the moment breaking when her phone buzzed.

"It's Brent" she sighed "I have to go"  
"What? Go as in, go with him?" Stiles panicked "Are you being serious?"  
"You don't get it Stiles, he-he's got good qualities too"  
"Yeah? Well so do I, it's called protecting the people I love, and I'm not letting him anywhere near you again Lyd"

She clamped her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes glancing back down to her phone screen anxiously.

"He'll get mad Stiles, he'll come looking for me"  
"And we'll be ready"  
"Have you seen him? He's huge, the guy plays championship lacrosse for the year above us!"  
"Yeah but, is his best friend an alpha werewolf?"

Stiles smirked mischievously at her as the phone buzzed again.

"I need to go Stiles" Lydia sighed, beginning to back away  
"If you go and see him then I'm going with you" the boy declared, folding his arms  
"You're not helping!"  
"Lydia we have protected each other for years, from Kanima's, werewolves, Deucalion, psycho Eichen House orderlies, the Nogitsune, so I'm not gonna stand by and let a freaking _human boy_ hurt you, okay? I'm protecting you from this whether you like it or not"

Lydia opened her mouth to reply, instead she lurched forward, wrapping her arms round his torso tightly. Stiles staggered slightly in initial shock, before holding her close to his chest and resting his chin atop her head.

"It's all gonna be okay" he murmured "I promise"

The phone began to ring, and Brent's name flashed up on the screen.

Lydia held her cell in a shaky hand as Stiles watched her in concern  
"I'm right here" he assured her, lightly squeezing her free hand.

She looked up at him and smiled softly, before ignoring the call and turning her phone off altogether.  
"Lunch?" she suggested, breathing heavily

Stiles grinned down at her as he took her arm and led the way to his jeep.


	15. Chapter 15

_"Just hold on. You're gonna be fine..."_

Lydia craned her neck upwards at Stiles' words, just enough to glare at him.  
"You're not the one hanging from the edge of a cliff Stilinski" she growled.

Stiles tightened his grip on her hands from his spot lying flat on his stomach, his legs were wound round the stump of a conveniently placed thorn bush, which had left scratches all over him.

The pair had been arguing on and off for the past hour and a half. Lydia was trying to convince Stiles to at least let go of one of her hands so he could call for help, but the boy refused for fear that the strawberry blonde would plummet to the rocks below.

"This is why sensible people don't go wandering near cliffs in the dark!" Lydia cried, trying once again to find a jutting out piece of rock to rest her feet on.

"Look I swear to you Lyd I won't let you fall, just calm down alright?" Stiles sighed, his arms throbbing from the angle at which he'd been lying all this time.

The girl was panicking down below him, her voice getting whipped away by the wind, but Stiles could still hear her sped up breathing.

"Lydia? Lydia listen to me, I'm right here, I'm not gonna leave you I promise"  
"Stiles you'll have to let go eventually or you'll lose all feeling in your arms"  
"Honestly Lyd, that happened about an hour ago" the teen laughed slightly.

"You'll let go, and I'll fall…all the way to the bottom. My last banshee scream will be for my own death"

Stiles was growing more and more alarmed by her words, and despite the numb feeling in his limbs, he squeezed the girls hands.

"I'm not letting go Lydia, and if you fall, I'm going down there with you" he vowed  
"We need Scott" she whimpered, hissing in pain as her shin scraped a sharp section of rock  
"I don't have a spare hand-"  
"-Let go, just for a second, I'll be okay"  
"No way. Lydia we're not going through this again"  
"Stiles it could be hours before anyone comes up here, and even if we don't both go over, we'll catch pneumonia!"

Stiles sighed, he knew she was right, but deep down he was worried that if he let go of even one of her hands, she would fall, and he would never be able to hold her again.

"Find a rock to cling on to" he instructed, guiding her hands with his own  
"Okay" she called up in confirmation  
"Now slowly let go of my left hand"

Lydia opened her fist where Stiles' fingers had been clutched, and instantly she dipped lower down the rock face. She let out a scream of surprise that made Stiles' blood run cold as he scrabbled wildly to retrieve her hand again.

"No I'm okay, just make the call and hurry" Lydia begged, feeling blood run down her leg from her cut.

Stiles shakily dialled Scott, using all his strength in his other hand to hold onto Lydia still.

"Hey buddy we're kind of in a situation here – Yeah I know we left hours ago but you see Lydia fell off a cliff edge – Do I sound like I'm joking? – I'm literally lying here on my stomach stopping her from falling over 100 feet Scott! – You remember where we are right? – You're on your way? – Yeah you might wanna step on it man.

Stiles hung up with a sigh and dropped his phone on the ground beside him, before reaching back over to feel for Lydia's other hand once more.

"Scott's coming?" she asked wearily  
"Yeah he's on his way just hold on Lyd okay?"  
"Stiles I don't feel good…I think my leg's bleeding"

The boy screwed his eyes shut "Just hang on for me Lyds it's gonna be alright"  
"I'm feeling seriously woozy Stiles, I think I'm gonna pass out"

Stiles tightened his grip on her even more, knowing that if she were to fall unconscious, her grip on him would loosen and the chance of her falling would be higher.

As he was thinking this, Lydia let out a scream as one of her hands slipped away from one of his.

Instinctively, Stiles went to get up, crashing back to the ground as he heard Lydia sobbing.  
"Hey, listen to me, you'll be okay I won't let anything happen to you Lydia"  
"Stiles, tell my Mom I love her okay?"  
"What- no Lydia don't start saying stuff like that"  
"And Kira, Liam, Malia, Scott…Tell them I love them too right?"

Stiles felt tears burning up in his eyes which he furiously blinked away, swallowing his emotions in one long gulp.

He was exhausted, and terrified. She was exhausted and terrified. They were exhausted and terrified.

After a long silence, Lydia's voice reached Stiles, wavering and cracked as she spoke.

"Stiles…It's time to let go" she told him, loosening her fingers.  
This only made him grip onto her tighter  
"No Lydia, I'm not letting you fall, not now not ever" he growled  
"I'm slipping"  
"I've got you"  
"Stiles I'm gonna fall!"

"You're not going anywhere" a familiar voice cut in, and Stiles let out a cry of relief as Scott dropped to the floor beside him and reached over for Lydia's hands.

"Scott?" she called up, feeling his fingers brush over her spare hand  
"Right here Lydia, it's gonna be okay, I'll get you up"  
"I'm not gonna die?" she asked in almost disbelief  
"Not on my watch" the alpha muttered, groaning as he and Stiles began to pull her upwards.

Stiles was shaking from exhaustion, but still he gritted his teeth and helped Scott get Lydia back up to them.

As the strawberry blonde felt her feet touch flat ground, she burst into tears and dropped to the floor, curling up into a ball as she sobbed.

Stiles instantly pushed himself forward on his hands until he was sat beside her. His arms wound round her as he held her to his chest and rocked her comfortingly.

Scott wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, as he yanked a torch from his jacket and shone it over them, sighing at the state they were both in.

"Lydia, you're okay" he promised, crouching down and resting a hand on her shoulder.  
"I thought- I thought I was gonna-"  
"Shh" Stiles cut her off "Don't say it, it's over now, it's all over"

As Scott nodded in agreement, his torch picked up the gash on Lydia's leg and he winced.  
"We need to get you two to the hospital, my Mom can stitch that up for you"

The girl looked down and flinched at the wound "I don't think I can walk…my legs are numb" she whispered.

Scott nodded, watching as Stiles soothingly began to run his fingers through her hair.

"Can you walk buddy?" Scott asked him  
"Yeah…but I don't think I could carry her…my arms are dead"  
"I'll carry her, I just need to know that you can walk"  
"Scott I'm okay I promise"

The alpha nodded and squeezed his friend's shoulder, before carefully lifting Lydia into his arms.

"We're not gonna have to walk all the way to the hospital right?" Stiles asked weakly  
"Oh no, I've got my bike, you can sit behind me and we'll rest Lyd on the handlebars"

Stiles' jaw dropped as Lydia let out a mumble of disapproval.

Scott smirked and shook his head at them as they continued to walk down the path.  
"Kira is waiting along the road, I made her stay in the car. Don't worry, no bike I swear"

Stiles laughed in relief, thumping Scott on the back as they suddenly caught sight of the flash of headlights in the distance.

The boy leant down beside the strawberry blonde's head and whispered.

"We're okay Lydia, we're okay"


End file.
